Brandon Underwood and other CB issues

This situation obviously does not reflect well on the Pack and in that sense, I’m bothered simply by the fact that this has been a distraction. I’m also a bit bothered by the fact that anonymous Packers have said Underwood has had other behavioral issues during his time in GB. And on a fundamental level, I’m bothered by the possibility that despite no charges being filed, he may acted disrespectfully toward women.

However, I have intentionally waited until now to write something about all of this because I wanted to see if any charges were pressed against him. It appears that there will not be any charges. Like the Big Ben situation, just because there were no charges, this does not mean Underwood WASN’T doing something wrong – but it also does mean that there were no formal charges against the guy. And, I’ll admit that when I learned the stories of the two alleged victims had changed over time, I became suspicious of them/their motives. Either way, I’m ready to move on.

A more concerning tidbit I came across this morning was that 34 year-old Charles Woodson, who has 3 years left on his present contract, may be exploring the possibility of having his contract reworked. He is due another $20 mil over these next three years, but he’s also a smart guy and realizes that he outperformed his contract last year as DPY. Frankly, I hope this situation just fizzles out – and I can’t imagine he’d get overly worked up if his contract isn’t reworked.

6 Responses to “Brandon Underwood and other CB issues”

Woodson is 34 years old and has three years left on his current deal. It doesn’t give him much leverage with the Packers but I think the Packers might be willing to do something for him in terms of structure. It is an uncapped year and maybe they make more of his remaining deal guaranteed and front loaded into this year. That leaves more room for future years and gives Woodson the security he desires. Sounds like a win/win to me.

Woodson is looking for some upfront money. The problem I see is TT not wanting to apply any dollars beyond the current contracts for the older players. Woodson certainly has earn a shot at an increase even though he’s under contract. I hope this does not evolve into an issue.

A note to Packer Players: It is a good idea not to fraternize with dancers from a strip club named “Crusin Chubbies.” Oviously the ladies decided that there was a nice payday if they couldsnag a player or two. Only Underwood bit. And lucky for him the word moron is too generous in describing this pair. So, no team or league reprecussions are probably coming. However, Brandon’s gonna have some splainin to do to Mommie.

I was thinking about this Woodson situation a bit more and I remembered that Driver was making noise about this time last year about a new contract. He reported to OTA’s and downplayed it but it made headlines for a week. Many were wondering if he was going to report to OTA’s. Driver received a two extension two years before which really bumped up his average salary via the use of game day roster bonuses. If he got hurt he wouldn’t have recieved a bunch of that new money.

Woodson signed his current deal in 2006. It was big money at the time and that deal goes through the 2012 season. ($52 million over that 7 years) I can see this issue just going away like it did with Driver last year. Again, I can see the Packers re-structuring some $ to take advantage of the un-capped year but I doubt he gets any significant new money and I would guess any new money would come in the form of game day roster bonuses. That would give him the pay bump he wants but protect the Packers if he gets hurt or needs to be released 2-3 years from now.